I Am She…the Woman with the Alabaster Box pt. 3

As crazy as the story of Tamar and Judah is, I’m sure Jesus was aware of it. I’m sure that Jesus knew about the drama in his family. However, according to Matthew 1, this wasn’t the only woman that is mentioned. Maybe Jesus remembered another woman from his family tree? Maybe he looked at the most notorious prostitute in the bible. Maybe he looked at Rahab…

Rahab is one of my favorite characters from the bible. Her story can be found in Joshua 2.  One of the reasons I love her story is that there she was a woman with a past. She is a woman that most likely had to get it done on her own. I feel like Rahab is like myself and a lot of women that I know. She is a woman that made lemonade, lemon pound cake, lemon tarts, and lemon cookies with the lemons that she was given.   

I’ve found that a lot of times in church settings there isn’t much talk about the past. For me, the lessons from the past are a part of my experience. What I’ve learned in the past is what makes me me. Those experiences are why I am the way that I am. Rahab is a woman that had a past. She learned to embrace it and that’s why I like her and her story. 

While we don’t know about her life in Jericho prior to her encounter with the Israelite spies, I like to imagine how she got to where she was. Maybe she lost her virginity to a man that she thought loved her and because of society she literally had no other option than to sell her body. 

Maybe she was married previously and her husband died. Maybe she was a victim of rape and couldn’t be apart of society because of it. Maybe she longed for a life where she wasn’t ostracized by those around her. We have no idea. We only meet Rahab in her home on the wall of Jericho. 

Joshua sent two spies out into the land of Jericho. Two of the spies encounter Rahab. They wind up staying with Rahab. The king of Jericho found out that the spies were lodging with Rahab and demanded that they come out. Rahab hid them from the king. The people of Jericho were afraid of the children of Israel and Rahab relays this information to the spies. She being the boss that she is, strikes a deal with the spies. She tells them that she will hang a scarlet thread from her window. They agree that she won’t tell the king where they are and the spies will save her once they take over the city. 

Even though Rahab was a woman that lived alone she still secured safety for her family. This was the family that may or may not have shunned her. I think that Rahab gives us a lesson in forgiveness here. She let the past stay in the past in order to save lives. She allowed healing to come into her heart and she saved her family. 

She was saved by the Israelite spies. She married into the Israelite family and became a mother… I would say that she had a happy ending to her story. The child that she bore winds up being another important figure in the bible. 

She was Boaz’s mom!

Yes, that Boaz!

Join me for part 4 as we take a look at Ruth. 

I look up, He looks down.

Evelyn Denise